Judge upholds woman's conviction in highway deaths

Wednesday

Nov 21, 2012 at 12:00 PM

A Douglas County judge has upheld the conviction and sentence of a Washington woman who killed two highway workers while driving south of Lawrence in 2007.

AP

A Douglas County judge has upheld the conviction and sentence of a Washington woman who killed two highway workers while driving south of Lawrence in 2007.The Lawrence Journal-World reports District Judge Paula Martin ruled earlier this month that Ramona Morgan's court-appointed attorney committed some errors, but nothing bad enough to affect the jury's decision.Morgan had argued she received ineffective counsel and that her 26-year sentence was excessive.Witnesses testified at Morgan's 2008 trial that she drove around a pilot car twice in a U.S. 59 work zone on Sept. 11, 2007, and the second time struck and killed two workers.Law enforcement officers had to puncture her pickup truck's tires after a chase to get her to stop. Her earliest possible parole date is 2030.